As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
One type of information handling system currently involved in intense development efforts is the multi-node computer system (MCS). For instance, in one proposed configuration, the 82870 chipset developed by Intel Corporation (hereinafter the “870 chipset”) provides for a four-node system that includes a set of central processing units (CPUs), a CPU hub, an input/output (I/O) hub, and a PCI expansion bus for each node. The CPU hubs may also be called scalable node controllers (SNCs). In addition, the 870 chipset features a multi-port switch, known as a scalability port switch (SPS), in each hub, and the SPS may be configured to interconnect an I/O hub from one node to the CPU hub of another node, for example. SPS configuration is handled by the CPU hubs.
In an MCS, as in more traditional computer systems, a basic input/output system (BIOS) may be used for tasks such as system initialization. However, a problem may be presented when BIOS code in a computer system becomes corrupted, for example as the result of a hardware malfunction.